


It's a Mementos Conspiracy

by Anonymous



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Knotting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-25 01:21:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12519744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: When in doubt "Metaverse Weirdness" served as a decent catch-all.





	It's a Mementos Conspiracy

**Author's Note:**

> This goes from cinnamon roll to sinammon roll but I'll mark when that happens and ends with a ===. This takes place in August just in case.

“I’m not going to ask how you found out-” Akira begins.

“It appeared in the metaverse one day.” Yusuke mumbles absently, more preoccupied with nuzzling Akira’s neck. 

The obvious answer was that the change was tied to Yusuke’s fox outfit. Akira’s cheeks heat up as he tries not to think about how they’re in Mementos together alone. In their outfits.

“Oh… Okay.” 

“It appears to be permanent. It manifests outside of the metaverse as well.”

_‘Manifests’._ He says. What a funny word. It’s not like he’s talking about his persona after all. 

There’s no asking Morgana about it. Even if Akira did somehow have the moxie to breach the topic there’s no guarantee Morgana could provide a good answer. Sure he was the most knowledgeable about the metaverse but it didn’t seem to be by much.

Yusuke feels warmer against him, but that could also just be Akira’s imagination running wild with the news.

A nip to his ear breaks Akira out of his thoughts. 

“I believe I’ve found all I needed for today. Shall we head back?”

How dare he.

Akira nods. On the way back to the surface Akira absently listens to Yusuke’s chatter.

What throws him off the most is that Yusuke doesn’t make any request regarding… it.

Summer goes by. The days grow longer, hotter, stuffier. A windchime finds its way to Akira’s windowsill. The team keeps up their activities in Mementos. 

Akira and Yusuke still hang out.

They’ve done… Stuff. Not since Yusuke dropped that bombshell but still. 

Does he want to do stuff? It’s difficult to tell what is aggressive cuddling and what is a request to take it further. Akira feels hesitant to even term it “aggressive” cuddling because when it’s Yusuke that’s just Cuddling.

Every time they enter the metaverse, be it just the two of them or the whole party Akira feels a burn trailing from his neck down his back. There’s a sore spot that’s manifested in his neck with the amount of turning his head he’s done when it gets to be too much. 

“Is something bothering you, Joker?”

Makoto picks up on it first. 

“No.” Akira’s hand drifts to the junction between his neck and shoulder and scratches at it. 

It’s just him. Yusuke doesn’t seem to be acting any different, business in the palace, slightly less business in Mementos.

If he wanted to Do Stuff he would ask, right? 

Yusuke could be bashful sometimes. However often enthusiasm could override courtesy with him. Akira notes with satisfaction that Yusuke seems to just go for it around him. He has no problem whatsoever asking for thirds or fourths on curry whenever he comes to Leblanc, food might be a different matter though.

The last time they had Done Stuff Yusuke had asked, at least Akira thinks he did. Upon further thought it feels more like they had both talked each other through it. 

Akira shouldn’t spend this much time thinking about someone’s… that. Even if that someone was his boyfriend. He should just let it happen when it happens.

That was what he should do, but then Akira has this bad habit of allowing curiosity to eat him alive.

Sometimes Akira thinks of just laying it down, blurting it out. Asking if Yusuke wants to Do It. He kind of wants to See It and Yusuke seems comfortable with it. The thing is there’s a time and place for these things. Times and places are flexible but in their situation, they just don’t align ever. The metaverse just isn’t very conducive to It. Akira wouldn’t say Mementos is completely out of the question but the atmosphere there isn’t great by any means. Palaces are out of the question.

Eventually the thought erodes from his mind towards the end of the summer. Bringing Futaba into the fold has them all pretty busy. After the Medjed takedown they had run a train on all the Mementos requests so they could focus on Futaba. 

One stormy August night, between huge bites of curry, Yusuke sits up straight in the Leblanc booth.

“It appears I’ve lost track of the time,” he winces. “I’ll have to take the train from Yongen-Jaya at this rate.”

Akira turns around and looks out the front window. Outside is mostly black, all he sees are fat raindrops slapping against the window.

“You could stay the night,” his mouth says, his mind hasn’t quite caught up.

He continues watching the rain patter against the window, it’s calming and quiet. Wait, quiet.

His head catches up to the current situation.

“I’ll spot you the train fare and walk you to the station if you need to be back tonight.” He offers just as easily.

It… Would be very nice if Yusuke spent the night. It’s been a while since they’ve had any “them” time, maybe something has changed in that absence. Regardless Akira is running a team operation, the team dynamic must be at 100%. If that means he doesn’t get what he wants so be it.

“Ah! No it’s nothing like that. That sounds marvellous.”

Yusuke says this but his face doesn’t look it. Akira won’t press the issue.

“Gonna wash these dishes.” Akira mumbles, plates and mugs clattering as he piles them up. “Bath house after?”

A soft smile graces Yusuke’s lips and his cheeks light up. “Of course.”

He doesn’t make any moves to help him, not that Akira would allow a guest to help him with chores. He follows Yusuke’s gaze to the canvas next to Leblanc’s counter, ah.

“You smell like curry.” Yusuke pauses, “and sweat.”

That makes sense, and they’re already going to the bath house later so there isn’t anything he can do about his sweaty curry clothes now. 

“I like it.” 

Oh… Well, they’re going to the baths later. Akira’s sure he smells like sweat, curry, and coffee on the regular anyway.

He starts on those dishes.

***

Today is one of those days where it feels like he hasn’t woken up. Muggy rain clouds cast a grey shadow through the attic since early noon when he found Yusuke downstairs. From then Akira had more or less floated through the day. One ear open to whatever Yusuke was chattering about. One eye open to the documentary they watched on his fuzzy crt. Heavy rains seem to rejuvenate Yusuke. Heavy rains put Akira to sleep.

There’s a bit of a chill to the raindrops falling. The shock is enough to keep Akira lucid on the way to the bath house but the muggy heat in the air keeps him a little drowsy. He has a really bad habit of falling asleep and fainting in the bath on rainy days as Morgana can’t actually go into the bathing chamber to keep him awake.

Hopefully Yusuke can.

“Akira?”

Akira blinks.

At some point he had dozed off, head drooping onto Yusuke’s shoulder. 

“Are you alright? Your cheek feels quite warm.”

Vaguely Akira feels Yusuke’s throat rumble as he speaks.

“Nnn.” He rolls his head around on Yusuke’s shoulder, trying to cool his burning cheeks on Yusuke’s skin. No attempt to pick his head up though.

Yusuke’s head tilts down, bumping against his. “I can carry you home if need be but I’ve found passing out to be inferior to falling asleep of one’s own accord.” 

Akira feels a sharp zing in his heart. His head clears.

“D’you wanna go to the showers?” It’s like he hasn’t used his throat for years. It’s always a little bit like that.

“Yes, but we must get yoghurt drinks after.”

“Dunno about that.” Akira says with the veneer of the flakiest croissant. He can’t keep it up after seeing Yusuke make the face of a man devastated and bursts out laughing. 

Movement helps. Attempting to shampoo Yusuke’s hair and wash his back puts Akira through a whole range of motions, mostly on the tips of his toes. 

“Yusuke close your eyes.”

“Yusuke lean this way.”

Akira grumbles. “Bend down a bit!”

He doesn’t hear Yusuke laugh, can’t see his face either. Still, the silence that hangs over them while Yusuke returns the favour taunts Akira.

Running water, rumpled clothes, and Yusuke’s humming are the only sounds in the locker room. Most people in the neighbourhood live in proper houses and use the bath house as a social nicety. On rainy days like today the baths are just about empty.

Akira likes being alone here with Yusuke.

“Yoghurt.” Yusuke hisses on the way out, when they’re all dressed and walking past the granny behind the counter.

“I don’t remember saying anything about that”

“Akira I beg you.” Yusuke gasps. “You wouldn’t.”

Akira can see Yusuke’s metaverse ears and tail drooping, he can’t keep it up after that. 

“Granny, three yoghurts please.”

The grandma behind the counter casts an eye over Yusuke but otherwise keeps to herself. She grunts and reaches for the yoghurts.

When the come out the night air is cool and refreshing, perhaps it was just the temperature difference with inside the bath house but it’s nice all the same. They stroll through Yongen, Yusuke double-fisting yoghurts on the way home.

****

===

They acclimated to sharing the tiny attic bed early on. It just felt too horrible to have anyone sleeping on the bench, and Yusuke was really into the idea anyway.

Yusuke, in all his long-limbed glory completely envelops him. Legs tangle with his own and Akira feels a bit like a toy with how Yusuke hugs him close.

The two of them work.

Yusuke doesn’t take much space being the long skinny bean that he is, on his side he’s hardly even there. Wrapped around him like this Yusuke’s skin feels cool on his. It might have something to do with Goemon.

Akira’s cheeks heat up.

The metaverse… influences Yusuke a lot, sometimes in very unexpected ways.

Had he changed since awakening? 

Yusuke is necking him enthusiastically enough to rock them both on the bed. At the back of his mind Akira thinks of an affectionate puppy, or fox. Other than that he’s swimming in thoughts of the metaverse. Sure he could manage incredible feats of parkour but he had never tried anything of the like in a normal setting. Given how prone he is to keeling over in everyday life he’s not sure how good an idea that is either.

Also that’s not an _incredibly_ noticeable physical change.

Maybe the others? He can try bringing it up in group chat or the next time he hangs out with someone, really casual-like.

His neck is cold.

Yusuke’s gone still around him.

At that moment he feels his heart beat, hear the crickets outside, the stale attic air. The minute movements of Yusuke’s chest against his back, not like the deep luxurious breaths he takes when he sleeps. 

It’s too still, there’s an itch under his skin. Akira fidgets, he needs to shake it out. Morgana ditched them the same time Sojiro did so he isn’t there to yell at him. Loath as he is to sleep early who knows when he’ll fall asleep if he doesn’t calm the energy brewing in his limbs.

Yusuke’s hand trails from his navel to his chest, long bony fingers stroke his sternum. 

“Do you remember what I told you the last time we were in Mementos together?”

Akira nods, except he’s facing away from Yusuke.

“Mm.” He grunts.

His hand stills. “Would you be averse to…?”

Yusuke’s going somewhere with this, somewhere that’s warping the restless energy in him out of control. 

Akira turns to face Yusuke. Hand on his chest all the while.

“Averse to?”

Yusuke hides his face in his shoulder and Akira’s confused. At least until Yusuke’s also nudging his hips against his thigh and _oh_.

Fuck sleeping. Fuck something else too.

The residual bath heat has him pliant, tomorrow’s the weekend, and both of his keepers have tapped out for the evening.

It’s like the whole damn solar system has aligned.

He wedges his leg between Yusuke’s and works it against him. 

“What’s this?” He whispers, curling his fingers into Yusuke’s night shirt. Yusuke whines and thrusts his hips down, Akira can’t help the Joker grin trying to twist itself onto his lips.

“Akira please.” Yusuke gasps. “Please.”

Next thing he knows Yusuke’s grabbed onto his shoulders and he’s under his excited boy. The grip on his shoulders is claw-like. Akira thinks he might have a friction burn coming on with how Yusuke is rocking into his hip. Maybe they need to back it up a few.

“Yusuke.” Akira murmurs, stroking Yusuke’s hair. 

Yusuke continues forcing himself into Akira’s side, panting harshly against his neck.

“Yusuke, wait a sec.” Akira repeats, gently patting the back of his head.

This time he stutters to a halt. Finally, he detaches himself from Akira’s neck to look at him.

Yusuke’s flushed and heaving like he’s run a marathon. He blinks at him then looks away. 

“I apologise. I lost myself.” He mumbles, slowly loosening his grip on Akira’s shoulders then placing his hands on either side of his head. 

Akira pushes them until Yusuke’s sitting up, back against the wall. Then he hooks a finger into Yusuke’s waistband. It’s all he can do not to shake in the moment, or dive right in. The whole summer, the _whole_ summer he’s been waiting for this. 

“Take care of this first?” He says, struggling to keep his voice normal.

“Indeed.”

He tugs his boxers down, Yusuke lifting his hips to ease his efforts. On the way down Akira can’t help pressing his knuckles into the fleshy underside of Yusuke’s cock. Yusuke groans and jolts his hips up.

He looks down and there it is. Or at least Akira assumes that’s what the swelling at the base is. And…

Akira’s gaze trails to the tip, shiny already. A deep purr rumbles out of his throat as he notes the development.

Dropping Yusuke’s boxers over the edge of the mattress, Akira turns his attention back to the knot. The Knot.

“Does it bother you?” Akira asks. This time he can’t resist getting a touch, a taste. He places a hand on the swelling, palm first then tentatively curls his fingers around. It’s hot in his grip and Akira swears it’s pulsing. He can’t quite wrap his fingers around all the way, his thumb and fingers are about an inch from meeting. Thinking about it gives him the shivers.

He gives it a light squeeze and Yusuke bucks into his touch, hard enough that he nearly throws off Akira.

“It’s part of me now.” Yusuke pants out in between breaths. Akira continues squeezing it, massaging the base of his cock with the heel of his palm. “Oh Akira your hand feels like heaven!” Yusuke cries out. 

“Ooh.” Akira trills, swinging his leg from between Yusuke’s legs over a spot. So he can perch his clothed bum onto Yusuke proper. “I’m not sure if my ass can compete with heaven.”

Yusuke twitches under him at the thought.

Leaving Yusuke with that to look forward to he leans over and bats the lube out from under the pillow.

“Can you do something for me Yusuke?”

Yusuke looks at him, cheeks flushed and eyes slightly unfocused. Akira puts the tube in his hand and gives him a peck on the cheek. He loves his cute boyfriend.

Akira clambers off of Yusuke’s lap and flops back onto the bed. Knees propped up, head resting comfortably on his pillow and expecting good things.

“The working theory is that this should be done thoroughly. To accommodate this.” Yusuke gestures at his junk with a flourish of his arm. “Right?”

The doesn’t sound like the good things Akira hopes for.

Before he can answer Yusuke presses slick fingers between his legs. He sighs at the contact, whines when Yusuke doesn’t move any further. 

He traces his entrance, one round, two rounds. Then Akira works out that he’s had this all wrong because Yusuke is starting hot with three fingers. On instinct his knees fall open and he throws his head back with a gasp. Like Yusuke’s fingers the slide is unending. The stretch is unending. It may be his imagination but he swears Yusuke’s bony knuckles hitting him on the way in pull him that much wider. The push forces a high keen from his throat. As more comes in, more comes out.

“It’s soft.” Yusuke’s voice sounds far away. “The bath did wonders.”

One moment Yusuke has three fingers in him. The next there’s no fingers in him.

Then Akira bows his back off the bed and clutches the sheets for his life because there’s _four_ pushing in with no resistance. There’s too much happening between his legs, too many feelings, and woops it looks like he’s already gone and shoved himself down on Yusuke’s hand. 

“Yusuke c’mon. Hurry.” He huffs and works himself down again, and again. 

Akira has half a mind to grab Yusuke’s wrist because he’s not moving it enough. At this rate it’s less “Yusuke preparing him” and more “Akira using his boyfriend’s hand like a toy”.

“How should we do this?” There’s more activity on Yusuke’s behalf now. 

Akira manages to still himself. Once the fog clears some from his mind and he’s regained some of his breath he pulls Yusuke’s hand out. “I wanna be on top.”

Yusuke smiles. “All yours then, Leader.”

_Fucking smartass_ , he nearly growls at him. Instead Akira swings himself around and puts his hands on Yusuke’s shoulders. He pushes, harder until Yusuke gets the idea and arranges himself comfortably on the bed. 

Shucking his own boxers off, Akira drizzles more lube onto his dick. He perches himself on Yusuke and looks down. Just a moment to take it all in. 

“Did you think about this?” Anything to get Yusuke talking. Akira had a feeling that he wouldn’t be much for dirty talk. Or if he did it would be in a form he might not be prepared to take. He’ll take what he can though, anything sounds good in Yusuke’s voice.

“I tried not to.” Yusuke winces, Akira feels his hands on his hips. “It was too distracting when I did.”

“Distracting how?” Akira cooes, sliding forward. Forearms framing Yusuke’s head on the pillow, he bites at Yusuke’s ear. 

“My thoughts were full of… Burying it into things.” Akira bites his shoulder, running his tongue over the mark after and Yusuke groans under him. “You.”

Akira pulls back. He lifts his hips up, getting ready to take a seat.

“I thought about it a lot.” He says with a crooked smile.

And lowers himself down.

That first stretch is magic.

Akira’s mouth falls open as more cock slides into him and takes his breath away. Then, to get a taste of what’s to come he spreads his knees further. Rooting Yusuke down to the base, enveloping him. They both cry out when Yusuke’s knot slips in, firm but with a spongy give.

“It will swell when I’m close.” Yusuke says while Akira takes deep breaths. Trying to keep himself slack and open. 

Even bigger. Akira will cross that bridge when he gets there. Looking around he frowns. A headboard or something to hold onto would have been nice. 

Akira leans over Yusuke, bracing him in with his hands. When it comes down to it they don’t need anything more than a bed and privacy, right?

The first few movements have Akira breathing hard. On the way up the blunt head tugs and scrapes on his insides. On the way down it’s easy to drop himself down so he does, letting Yusuke’s girth spread him open, spear him apart. Until his bum rests on tense legs and Akira takes a few seconds just to _feel_. 

This wonderful cycle on repeat and faster, all the while Yusuke presses into something soft inside him that makes him feel fuzzy, sweet, and right.

When Akira gets a rhythm going he checks on Yusuke and the sight melts his heart. 

First off his impeccable side-swept hair is matted and all over his eyes. Somehow Akira can still meet his gaze, his sharp and clear gaze. Like ice itself, looking into Yusuke’s eyes has always calmed him, sobered him up. However the deep blush on his cheeks tells a different story.

He crooks his elbows and drops his torso down with a woosh.

Then holds himself just short of crashing into Yusuke’s face. He doesn’t flinch but Akira feels him twitch at the scare. He brushes his lips over Yusuke’s.

Yusuke bites his bottom lip so he keeps doing it. Tangling his fingers in Yusuke’s soft hair he puts his lips on Yusuke’s harder and more. Somewhere along the line tongues happen, but he’s not concerned with that. Not when it feels so good his eyes flutter shut and his throat hurts from squealing into the kiss.

It doesn’t seem like Yusuke is much better off. Next thing Akira knows the grip on his hips tightens and he’s being pulled down. Over and over, with each pass the pressure that comes when he reaches the base grows. Eventually it hits him, the knot is swelling, toughening up. 

“You close?” Akira asks, breaking away and jostling his hips in time with Yusuke yanking him down. 

“Yeah.” Yusuke pants, he groans then pulls Akira off his dick. “How should we do this?”

“Inside?” Akira says. There’s no point otherwise, right?

“That will be very messy.”

Akira can’t say he opposes messy. “Inside.” He insists.

Yusuke doesn’t respond. He’s looking at him but also not quite looking at him?

Right when Akira is about to poke him out of his apparent reverie, Yusuke speaks. “I want to do this.” 

Classic of his penchant for the grandiose, Akira puffs out his chest and carefully falls back onto the bed. “Go for it,” he says with a smile. He’s going for gentle and encouraging. It comes out like a dare.

Yusuke pushes him until he’s on his stomach. Knocks his legs apart in a move that alarms Akira in its brusqueness.

While he calmed down a little in their “break” the frenzy and desperation rush back tenfold when Yusuke takes the plunge. It lasts all of a second. A second that leaves his mind hazy, his vision blurred. 

Bit by bit he comes back down to earth and it turns out Yusuke’s not done yet. Each stubborn push against his tender ass forces a whine from his throat. 

There’s a lot going on. Every nerve in Akira’s body is thrumming with “getting a huge piece of Yusuke”. He might be halfway in, Akira can’t tell.

Yusuke’s voice on the periphery tells him to take deep breaths. Distantly Akira knows this is sound advice and the hand lightly dragging its nails over his ribs helps. However he’s stretched so taut that he can’t control it. Whether it’s trying to relax to let Yusuke or squeezing down to make life more difficult for them both. At this point it seems like his muscles are rejecting it all. As a matter of fact Akira’s sure his body is rebelling by seizing and twitching around Yusuke. 

A particularly violent thrust has him mewling hoarse into the sheets and twisting under Yusuke. 

Yusuke stops. “Are you alright?”

Yeah. 

Akira jolts when Yusuke touches his cheek. Oops he didn’t actually respond and had just been flopped out, gasping in shallow breaths. 

He grits his teeth. “Yeah. Don’t worry about me.”

“Akira.” Yusuke growls.

Before he can say anything more Akira grabs the bedsheet, draws his legs in, and bucks his hips back into Yusuke hard enough they slap together. 

It’s done. His thighs give out and he faceplants into the bed. Yusuke’s hips lurch against him, grinding against where he’s the most soft and Akira’s done. 

It’s bright lightning. It’s heat seizing his body, curling his fingers and toes, wrenching a scream out of his throat. 

Similarly inundated Yusuke wraps his arms around him, calls out for him. Hips stuttering in short powerful jabs and holy shit if he pulls back too far Yusuke’s cock anchored in him _will_ yank him back. They’re really stuck. Not even mentioning that Yusuke is definitely…

Akira’s cheeks heat up and he presses his face against the bed. 

This is an inevitability to getting rawed, and clearly they chose the best occasion for that first. 

“Akira,” Yusuke’s voice breaks on his name. 

“Shh it’s okay.” Akira says gently. Another surge of warmth coupled with a thrust in him confirms that Yusuke is indeed still cumming. No wonder he sounds wrecked, who knew how long they’ve been at it for. 

Akira reaches back and pats Yusuke’s leg in what he hopes is a soothing way. “You’re okay. Just…”

“I feel huge.” Yusuke croaks.

Akira winces, he isn’t wrong. He has to think a bit on this one. 

“Just, get it all out.” There’s an idea! In light of this epiphany Akira squeezes down on Yusuke. 

Yusuke howls to raise the hairs on his neck and bites down hard on the muscle between his neck and shoulder. It _hurts_ and yet Akira can’t deny his cock twitching in interest at the sting. 

After several cycles of Yusuke thrusting, cumming, and panicking while Akira attempted to coach him they might be getting somewhere. Finally, Yusuke’s knot seems to be going down. However his whole pelvic region is all kinds of numb and achy so that could also just be Akira’s imagination.

“It appears the swelling has gone down.” Yusuke announces, the excitement in his voice has Akira on edge.

“I will extract myself now.” Yusuke declares proudly.

_“Yusuke no!!”_  
.  
.  
.  
It’s too late.

 

****

===

Akira musters a jaw-cracking yawn and scratches his neck. He stares at the coffee setup. Waiting, aka the worst part of brewing coffee.

He spots a shadow by the door and hears the lock. It’s too early for this, he scrubs a hand over a bleary eye.

The door swings open and Sojiro stares at him for a few seconds short of abnormal.

“Mornin’.”

Akira swears the corner of Sojiro’s lip was twitching. Something in his voice is off. 

Early that morning he had looked around for something that would cover up his neck. Something that also wouldn’t look dodgy to wear in summer. That was how he made the revolutionary fashion choice of pairing a red bandana around his neck with his Leblanc apron.

“Mornin’.” He says in kind. Whatever, he’d done what he could. His conscience is clean.

Thankfully it’s all business after that and Sojiro joins him behind the counter. 

“Good morning.” Says another voice from the floor. Whatever was off in Sojiro’s greeting was implicit. This is explicit.

Akira pointedly ignores the brushing around his ankles.

“You smell funny.” Morgana mutters.

“Oi take your damn cat upstairs. We’re opening soon.” Sojiro says without looking up from the curry pot. 

Yusuke’s still asleep, probably. Akira looks wistfully at the stairs. Would a button mashing be enough to keep Morgana quiet?

Morgana walks to the counter entrance, tail up and ears pointed. “Nice collar. I think I saw the neighbour’s cat wearing something like it.” He meows loudly. 

“Akira.” Comes Sojiro’s raised voice from the kitchen. 

“I’m on it!” Akira yells back. Squatting down next to Morgana, Akira pats his head.

“Tuna.” He whispers, “I promise.”

“None of that convenience store stuff.”

Akira nods. “Never.” 

Morgana’s tail swishes. “The fatty cuts!”

“Mona shut up!” Akira hisses.

Morgana’s tail stops. “You promise.”

Akira sighs, “I promise.” Why Morgana is going over this is beyond him. When he eventually has to go out and get that tuna Morgana will be in the bag anyway.

“Good.”

With a purr Morgana quietly pads up the stairs. Akira’s fingers still itch with the thought of button mashing, but honey and vinegar and all that.

Now that’s out of the way Akira turns back to the coffee, enjoying the soft warmth coming from the flame.

“Go back to bed.”

Akira straightens his back. “I’m fine.”

“You did a lot of cleaning this morning.” Sojiro pauses, stirring the curry. “Also you look like hell.”

“Good morning.”

At the sound Akira shivers, his spine tingling and melting as the tension ebbs away. Yusuke stands at the bottom of the stairs glowing, hair ruffly, and _oh no_ that’s one of Akira’s larger shirts. When he recovers from the initial shock another thought hits him.

_Morgana…!_

“You’re rested up,” Sojiro says squinting at Yusuke. “Get over here.”

Yusuke perks up. “Gladly. How may I be of assistance?”

“I wish this one had some manners like you.” Sojiro huffs. “I thought I told you to go back to bed.”

Akira blinks, it seems he dozed off but it doesn’t seem like he closed his eyes. Yusuke’s hand descends on his shoulder and he finds himself leaning in to it. 

“I’m afraid I kept him awake last night.” Yusuke says, apologetic smile blinding Akira. In the face of his radiance Akira abruptly feels very dry and aware of the sleep dotting his eyes. 

“I’ll be fine,” Yusuke whispers to him. “Go sleep.”

“Morgana didn’t wake you up did he?” Akira says, one hand unconsciously moving to the other to tug on a glove that isn’t there.

 

“I believe he’s sleeping.”

Oh. His hands stop.

Standing, Akira walks to the attic.

“At least you’re taking responsibility.”

Sojiro’s voice. Akira pauses in the middle of the staircase. 

“Next time take it easy though. You’re young, you both have plenty of time.”

Akira seizes up. May the forces that be keep Sojiro from pursuing this line of conversation, please.

“Pardon?” There’s Yusuke. 

Sojiro doesn’t answer for a while. Against his better judgement Akira panics over the thought of Sojiro giving Yusuke some nightmare version of the nature talk.

“Ah nevermind. Just some old man nonsense.”

Akira lets out a breath.

“Hey! I know you’re on the stairs!”

His heart leaps, Akira immediately scurries up the stairs. 

“Anyway. Whaddya say I show you how to brew a Leblanc coffee?”

**Author's Note:**

> I have a demon that prevents me from writing actual ABOverse but I still wanted something so here we are. Please let me know if there are typos! I read through a few times but you know how it is : c


End file.
